Popular Roswell tournament canceled amid coronavirus outbreak

ROSWELL, N.M. (KRQE) – A lot of people think the big event for Roswell is the UFO Festival but the city’s biggest event is actually a national flag football tournament.

“There are a lot of things more important than money at this time and I think it will have an impact, hopefully not too severe,” said local organizer Cla Avery.

The world’s largest 4-on-4 flag football tournament held Memorial Day weekend in Roswell has been canceled due to the coronavirus. The ‘Hike It & Spike It’ Football Tournament attracts players and their families and families from all over the United States.

“We go all over the country from Florida to L.A. and everything in between, this is our number one tournament by far,” said Toby Bourguet a flag football player.

Organizers for the tournament say more than 40,000 people, including 600 teams, come to Roswell for the tournament.

This is normally the biggest boost to the local economy every year as hotels sell out for the weekend and restaurants and food vendors are humming to keep up with the high demand. Now the local economy will take another hit.

“It’s our biggest weekend event during the year and it does have a substantial economic impact on the community,” said Cla Avery.

The website for ‘Hike It & Spike It’ tournament has switched on the countdown clock to next year’s tournament, which is 424 days away.